Birthday To Remember
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Steve doesn't know how to tell the team that his birthday isn't actually the Fourth of July. Surprisingly, one of them already knows.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise. **

_Challenges listed at the bottom. _

**Word Count** \- 2091

* * *

**A Birthday to Remember **

* * *

He pretends that it doesn't hurt, when Tony skips the birthday party the team had arranged for him. He had a good time with the rest of them, of course, but Tony's absence was definitely felt.

Steve stood on the balcony of the tower, watching the fireworks going off around New York to celebrate Independence Day, and he sighed to himself, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Missing Tony, Cap?"

He turned to look at Nat, and shrugged lightly. "He's a busy man. It's not a big deal or anything."

She handed him a full wine glass, and he accepted it though he probably wouldn't drink it. He wasn't a fan of the taste, and it seemed pointless to drink something he didn't particularly like when it had no effect on him anyway.

"He's your best friend, and he's missing your birthday. You're allowed to be hurt by that," she replied softly.

Steve shook his head. "It's fine, Nat. I'm sure we'll do something when he gets back."

…

They didn't.

…

As the months passed, Steve forgot about Tony missing his birthday, and the two of them were closer than ever. The team as a whole were closer than ever, both in battle and outside of it. With Christmas approaching, spirits were high and they were all preparing for a _family _Christmas at the Tower.

Still, it was a little early in the month for gifts to be exchanged, so Steve frowned when he saw the beautifully wrapped box on his bed, a red envelope with just his name written on it on top.

"JARVIS? Do you know who left this here?"

"It is safe, Captain Rogers," JARVIS assured him, his voice calm and understanding in a way that always boggled Steve's mind.

He opened the card first, slipping his finger beneath the tab. He pulled out a beautiful card, and he felt his breath catch when he saw the _Happy Birthday _written across the top of the card. Beneath it, a hand-drawn picture of his and Iron Man's backs, their heads bent close together, apparently deep in conversation.

When he opened the card up, it was to find it mostly empty. Just Steve's name written at the top, and 'love, Tony' at the bottom, in his best friend's familiar scrawl.

…

"Thank you for the art set," Steve said quietly, when he entered the workshop an hour later.

Tony looked up and nodded, biting his bottom lip. "Happy Birthday, Steve."

"How did you know?" Steve asked, stepping further into the lab as the doors slid shut behind him.

Tony rolled his eyes. "My dad was your biggest fan, Steve. Of course he knew when your real birthday was. It's not… it's not a big deal, I just thought, you know, you deserve someone to acknowledge your _actual _birthday."

Steve smiled but his brow furrowed soon after. That Howard knew his birthday could only have been a passing comment, right? How would Tony still remember that, so many years later, when he sometimes forgot to feed himself.

It didn't make sense.

"I'm surprised you remembered something from that long ago."

Tony made a noncommittal sound and Steve huffed with frustration.

"I mean, Howard couldn't have told you more than once, right and—"

"He celebrated your birthday every year," Tony snapped and Steve flinched at the bitterness in Tony's tone.

"Tony—"

"He celebrated _your _birthday every single year, Steve, and yet, he consistently forgot mine, so it's not really a surprise that I remembered, is it?"

"Tony—"

"I've got work to do, I'll see you later."

The dismissal was clear, and Steve, though he really wanted too, knew better than to push Tony any further for the moment. Tony was… hard to read sometimes, but Howard had always been a bit of a touchy subject and this… well, Steve wasn't surprised that Tony was bitter.

He would be too.

"Thank you, Tony," he murmured again, before he backed out of the lab. He'd have to find a way to thank the genius properly.

…

Bucky was found, and for a while, Tony didn't enter Steve's mind at all.

…

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, blinking.

Steve sighed. "I live here?"

"Um. Okay."

Tony walked through the living room to the kitchen, and Steve heard him flick the coffee machine on, groaning to JARVIS about making the thing run faster. He stood up, glanced at Bucky who was sitting beside Sam, and followed the genius.

"Don't you think you should be getting some sleep instead of drinking coffee?" he asked, his tone fond.

"You're not the boss of me," Tony grumbled.

How was someone so adorable so powerful? The mind boggled.

Steve shook his head. "The fact that you're alive is a miracle. Come on, genius, bedtime."

Tony shook his head, frowning. "No. I'm… I don't need you coming in here and pretending like you haven't ignored me for months, like things can just… be normal. That's not how that works, Steve."

"Tony, I'm sorry. I just… I guess I got a little single minded when I found out Bucky was alive. He… I needed to find him."

Tony didn't reply until he had his coffee in his hands, holding it close to his face as he almost hunched over it.

"I would have helped you, you know? If you'd just… asked."

"I didn't want to put anymore work on you, Tones. I know how much you have to do on any given day, and you don't have enough time for that, never mind if I added more to your plate."

Tony rolled his eyes. "It was important to you; I'd have made time, Steve. I thought you knew that."

"I know you would," Steve hastened to reassure him, because now that he was looking right at Tony, he could see the hurt in his eyes even if his face was his usual mask of couldn't care less.

Tony shrugged. "Maybe next time you call and let me help, huh?"

"I will… if you put the coffee down and go and get some actual sleep, Tones. You look like you're about to collapse."

Tony rolled his eyes, but the effect was ruined by a large yawn.

"Okay… okay, you may have a point. But I'm not going because you told me too."

Steve snorted. "Sure thing, Tones."

…

Steve tried not to show how much it hurt when Bucky celebrated his birthday with the others on the fourth of July, but from the look on Tony's face across the room, he failed.

…

"So!"

Steve jolted his surprise, and turned to see Tony stepping up beside him on the balcony.

"So?"

"It turns out I was wrong about something."

Steve blinked. "And you're admitting it?"

Tony shrugged. "If you tell anyone, they won't believe you, so it's fine."

Laughing, Steve raised his eyebrow. "So what were you wrong about?"

"I might have thought that you and Frostbite were a… thing?"

"A thing?"

"You know, making the beast with two backs?"

Steve choked on his laugh, and he felt his face flame up. "Um. No?"

"Well. I've just walked in on him and Sam making out so…. Damn I hope not," Tony said, shaking his head. "I just figured, you know, it was a thing. And it isn't. So. That happened."

Steve shook his head. "It's a good job you're pretty, Tony. Them brains of yours are like mush sometimes."

"Uh, hi, I am a genius," Tony replied, sticking his tongue out in a completely mature way.

"Uh huh."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're a sassy shit, Steve Rogers."

"You're only just picking up on that?"

"Come and dance with me before I go and tell the press what you're really like," Tony demanded, nodding his head to the inside, where the band was playing slow jazz as couples slow danced around the dance floor. "We can leave after and go get burgers, since I know you're still hungry."

"I've… I've never danced before, I don't know how," Steve admitted.

Tony's features softened for a moment, and he held his hand out to Steve. "I'll teach you."

…

Steve always knew he'd been saving his first dance for someone special, but it was nice to be proven right.

…

"Happy Birthday, Cap."

Steve smiled down at Tony, handing over coffee to the barely awake genius. Thankfully, nobody else was awake yet, since Tony was definitely not awake enough to have checked for an audience before he spoke.

"I got you a thing. Canvas thing. It's down in the 'shop, you can come get it later."

"Thanks, Tony. You know you didn't have too, right?"

Tony waved him off, and stood up, smiling at him. "I gotta go. Pep is slave-driving me again, she's forcing me to a meeting. In December. I'm horrified."

Steve snorted. "See you later, genius."

He watched Tony leave and turned to the cooker, only to jump when Bucky cleared his throat from the doorway.

"You know, Stevie, I knew there was something about your birthday party that didn't ring right with me."

Steve bit his lip and looked away. Bucky was doing loads better lately, and he didn't want his friend to feel bad. Bucky stepped forward and squeezed his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't remember, Pal. Happy Birthday."

"Thank's Buck."

They sat down for breakfast together, chatting about nothing of importance, when Bucky dropped his fork.

"Holy shit."

Steve frowned. "What is it?"

"You said your birthday was July 4th because you panicked and wanted to be more patriotic! I remember!" He started laughing, the laughter quickly turning into a full on cackle while Steve frowned at him.

"You're a jerk, Buck."

"And you'll never stop being a punk," Bucky said, chuckles still interrupting his words. "I can't believe you haven't told the team."

Steve shrugged. "They did me a surprise party," he admitted. "It felt… ungrateful to tell them the truth when they went to all that trouble."

Bucky shook his head. "Only you, Pal. So… when are you going to ask the resident Genius out, anyway? I saw the way you were looking at him, Stevie."

Steve threw a piece of toast at him. It seemed like an appropriate reply.

…

When Steve finally picked up his present, it was to find that the 'canvas' thing, was a whole new art set up, with canvases, paints, brushes, and a stand.

A little bit more than just 'a canvas thing'.

…

"No party this year?" Bucky asked, a shit eating grin on his face.

Tony snorted, and Steve nudged him, the arm around Tony's shoulders making it easy. Steve shook his head.

"I don't know what we're doing, Mr Secretive here won't tell me. But no, no party this year."

"Happy Birthday, Cap!" Clint said, as he and Nat entered the living room. Nat smiled at him, tossing a present into his lap.

"I. Um. It's not my birthday," Steve blurted out. "I got asked and I panicked and the fourth of July was the first thing that came to mind and I wanted to tell you but then you threw me a party and—"

"Breathe," Tony said, patting his stomach softly.

Steve snapped his jaw shut and looked up at Clint and Natasha, waiting for them to get mad at him. Instead, he found them both smirking at him.

"We know."

Steve blinked. "Huh?"

"Spies," Natasha said with a shrug, as thought that was all the explanation needed. "We've known since… well. We've known."

"Then… why the party?"

Clint frowned. "Why not a party? The answer is _always _a party, Cap, have we taught you nothing?"

"They were fucking with you, honey," Tony said, not looking up from his tablet. "They had a bet on when you'd cave and tell the truth."

"And you didn't think to tell me this… why?"

Tony shrugged. "We get our fun where we can. Who am I to ruin theirs?"

…

"Still mad at me?" Tony asked, a few hours later.

Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him close, shielding him from the evening breeze. While it wasn't exactly cold, the rooftop of Stark Tower was still high enough that the breeze had brought goosebumps to the bare skin of Tony's arms.

Even if he had been mad at Tony—which he wasn't—the rooftop picnic date would have changed that quick enough.

"I wasn't mad at you."

"You _pouted," _Tony complained.

Steve rolled his eyes and kissed Tony. "Thank you for bringing me out here."

Tony settled back against Steve and looked up as the first fireworks exploded in the sky.

…

Even if it wasn't his birthday, Tony was pretty passionate in showing Steve just how appreciated he was when they tumbled into bed a few hours later.

* * *

**Written for: **

Disney - C9. Terence - Having a crush on your best friend.

Showtime - 9. Dancing

Attic - 17. "The fact that you're alive is a miracle."

Film Festival - 9. Canvas

Marvel Appreciation - Power Stone - Powerful / "You're not the boss of me." / Passionate / Fireworks

365 - 263. Collapse


End file.
